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Saturday, May 10, 2008

Wool's Warmth

While waiting for "Firetruck Lane" to arrive, I used some small scraps of wool to knit baby hats and mitts for the All Crafts 4 Charity's May project.

From the meager pile of scrap balls, I made nine hats and three pairs of mitts. These will be sent to the project coordinator (BJ) in Idaho. BJ will forward the donations to the Rankin Inlet Birthing Centre in Canada. Rankin Inlet is located on the western shores of Hudson Bay, and with a population of 30,780, it is the second largest city in Nunavut. Almost 85% are native peoples, mostly Inuit.

BJ says, "The climate in the Rankin Inlet area is typical for arctic tundra. The ground is permanently frozen ( permafrost ), and the average annual temp is -18 F. Summer which usually lasts 6-10 wks has average temps of 37-60 F. The sun doesn't set for 6 months, and the other 6 months the sun doesn't rise.

The birthing centre was established in response to Inuit women who wanted to deliver closer to home. No highways connect Rankin Inlet with Sountern Canada, which is where the closest hospitals are. Most transportation to and from Rankin Inlet is done by air. Snowmobiles and atv's are used between villages. Nurse midwives provide prenatal care and attend deliveries. All deliveries are unmedicated."

BJ hopes to provide the midwives with baby clothing, bedding, and other little extras.

1 comment:

I'm working on stockpiling baby hats for charity, but I don't have much access to wool. I was waiting for our local thrift store to mark their sweaters down at the end of winter, but this year they apparently just sent them somewhere else instead. Drat!